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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · row · scale · mate · bay · saw · fork · vault

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fork — in a road
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. row — a line
  11. vault — a safe
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. club — for dancing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. scale — in music
  23. club — a group
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com